27 replies to this topic

[hank24]

Step 1. Study hard, finish school
Step 2. Start career
Step 3. Squander salary on ridiculously expensive hobby.

Signed, Dad

+1 to this.

I had a neighbor growing up who told me to worry about college and getting a solid career before I get serious. I pained me to wait so many years but he was right.

[Randy Thieme]

I started out driving my car to the track and now started towing it. I'll admit driving 120 mi was not an issue I had to face. I do know at least one driver who drives his even farther. Many people have started driving their car to the track and some still do, so don't feel pressured by the expensive trailers you see. I know corner-workers who like seeing a race car with a license plate still attached because to them it means old-school gentleman racing. As for cost risk find out much it really would cost to have a wrecker tow it home. Then you can make the risk-decision based on real data not assumptions.

As for legality turn signals and exterior lights can all stay. You'll want wipers and a speedometer of some kind anyways. That generally leaves the issues of noise and missing cat-converter (ahem. is no one looking?). The biggest risk I felt driving mine to the track was having loose heavy gear in the passenger compartment which could fly around in a bad wreck on the freeway, something I considered more dangerous than the racing.

If and when you decide to tow there is no need for an expensive tow vehicle. I bought a used '07 F-150 with 4.2L V6 and manual 5spd for $9 kilobucks and a used single axle flatbed for <$1 kilobuck. Last event it towed just fine doing 65 mph or higher and averaged 15 mpg. So unless your first trailer is going to be a big enclosed one don't feel pressure to buy an expensive tow vehicle either. Another cost-analysis you can do is the cost of operating a truck & economy car vs. just a truck. If the economy car needs bank payments it may turn out the cost of the loan and insurance of two vehicles exceeds the extra cost of fuel from just driving the pick-up.

As for driving experience find a go-kart place that holds rental-kart league racing. That will get you accustomed to racing with other vehicles around which you won't get from autocross. Then when it comes to to do the driving school and your first race things like finding your grid position, going side-by-side during the pace lap, waiting for the green flag to drop, all that will be familiar. Indoor kart places are easier to find but often the outdoor ones are like a miniture road-coarse.

[dmathias]

The biggest risk I felt driving mine to the track was having loose heavy gear in the passenger compartment

Naa, the biggest risk is getting in a fender-bender on the way to, or from, the track and smacking your bare noggin up side the rollcage.

Lights out.


+1 on karting league

[glauser]

Do you guys know of any good rental karting leagues in the SE? I haven't been able to find anything but kiddy-style kart tracks with incredibly sad karts.

[Roy Dietsch]

Step 1. Study hard, finish school
Step 2. Start career
Step 3. Squander salary on ridiculously expensive hobby.

Signed, Dad

I was offered the same advice when I started racing. Although it seems like good advice, I'm glad I didn't take it.

When I started, I had $500 in my bank account which I spent on a cage for my street car to race it in SM, I took out a bank loan to buy the spec suspension, maxed out all of my credit cards on the tons of $300-$100 stuff. And I picked up used tires from racers that were done with them. I had to work over 40 hours a week, getting a double overnight shift about once a week as well. All while taking 18 credits and running the miata parts business early mornings and weekends. I've never worked that hard in my life! No other goal in my life at that time(not including kids) would have pushed me that hard, to put fourth absolutly every ounce of energy I had. It taught me more about myself and what is truely possible if you want it bad enough. I would not have traded that experiance for anything.

Eventually I did burn out, and put that energy towards school, and I did do well, very well . Much better than I would have done overall, had I not pushed so hard early on.

Funny thing is that I currently operate a business(Datatoys) and am very close friends with the guy who gave me his old used tires . Racing, as a carrer decision, was the best thing I could have done. I also transfered the knowledge I gained runing the parts business(specifically to pay for racing) into my role at Datatoys. I am doing substantialy better then everyone I went to school with. And at my age (26) I get to race like the "fat cats" with the big rig and (somewhat) prepped car.

If I hadn't raced in college I would have been much worse off in the long run! At that stage in your life, you simply don't have much to lose and I say go for it!

Cheers,
Lucky Kid (Roy)

[dstevens]

Do you guys know of any good rental karting leagues in the SE? I haven't been able to find anything but kiddy-style kart tracks with incredibly sad karts.

In the SE dirt circle track karting is king. For pavement karts there are road race karts and what are called sprint race karts. (not to be confused with sprint cars). Early on my driving coaches thought that racing indoor karts could lead to developing bad habits. At many of those places the karts are poorly maintained in addition to having little HP as you've found.


For real kart racing in your area check out the WKA site. http://www.worldkarting.com/ For what it costs to arrive and drive a proper race kart you could find a similar deal renting an SM for a track day. One exception is Ocala Grand Prix. They and others down in FL rent racing karts by the session. http://ocalagranprix.com/

[Greg Kimble]

+1 on OGP, taking my daughter there soon so she can give karting a try, also Orlando Kart World is supposed to have good rentals.

Greg

[dstevens]

Orlando Kart World is Andre Martins, good guy. Ran the US Tony Kart team for a while. He and his brother are top notch guys. I forgot they bought that track.